Sometimes the best cure for waking up and realizing that winter is around the corner is to hoist yourself up by the bootstraps despite drizzle, clouds, or chilly weather and treat yourself to breakfast at your favourite Kelowna café. Break with routine. Do not plug in your coffee maker. When you tuck into that delicious Eggs Benny and rich coffee from the warmth of your booth, you’ll remember how a really great breakfast can lift your spirits and make it that much easier to face the Final Act of fall.

Here are some of Kelowna’s breakfast champion locale, in all their morning glory.

Okanagan Street Food Café is located on Crowley Ave., in Kelowna’s North End. Chef Neil Schroeter runs his very popular breakfast and lunch spot from a small and bustling restaurant in this industrial part of the city. His focus is on fresh and quality ingredients. He also does catering and the ever popular Soup Sisters charitable group cooking events out of this location. I haven’t met a menu item that I haven’t loved yet, but if you go, make sure someone in your group orders his Candied Salmon Risotto Fritters (to share). His Market Breakfast Wrap is also a hit. It consists of house cured and Applewood smoked bacon, egg, potato, aged cheddar and fresh salsa baked in a flour tortilla – and for a skinny $7, it is a major steal!

Kelowna’s iconic Sunday brunch spot is the Hotel Eldorado, and the easy elegance of the boutique lakeside hotel sure sets the stage for a special brunch. Then there’s the lavish spread of breakfast options: an omelette and crepe station, Alaskan King Crab, salmon, prawns, an array of desserts, fresh fruit, and all the fixins’. Reservations are highly recommended. Cost $31.

Next door, the Manteo Resort’s Wild Apple Restaurant is also pulling out the breakfast stops. Chef Bernard Casavant, a true BC super-star chef and mentor to the next generation of culinary talent, oversees the kitchen here with philosophy he has dubbed “wine country cuisine”. The breakfasts here are down to earth, hearty, and health conscious. Try the Lake Country Vegetable Benedict ($14) or the Housemade Buttermilk Waffle ($13) – heaven! And when you sit in a booth or at a window table, coffee in hand, and gazing out upon Okanagan Lake, you’ll be reminded that every month and every season has its beauty here in Kelowna.

(Photo: Courtesy of Tourism Kelowna)

And no breakfast locale list for Kelowna would be complete without a tip of the hat to the Bohemian Café on Bernard Ave. A Kelowna breakfast classic, this family-owned downtown restaurant has perhaps the most eclectic and lively atmosphere of all. The mismatched furniture and colourful art and prints on ocre walls make you feel instantly comfortable, like coming into your best friend’s kitchen. Try their BC Benedict ($14) with Nanuk Sockeye Salmon and some farm fresh free range eggs. Don’t let the construction on Bernard Ave deter you – now is more important than ever to support our downtown businesses, and the energy inside this artsy establishment is as fun and bright as it has always been.

Catherine is the Media Relations Manager for Tourism Kelowna and is dedicated to building Kelowna's intrigue as a travel destination through her work with the travel media. In her role she is fortunate to find out about Kelowna's many secret gems attractions, activities, and interesting people that are a surprise for travel media, tourists, and even for residents. This column gives her the chance to share with you the many things that make Kelowna unique and unforgettable so that you can glean ideas of places to visit or take guests when they come to town.